Santa lands on the lawn of the Pink Palace this Saturday to officially open the Enchanted Forest Festival of Trees benefiting Le Bonheur Children's Hospital.

There are so many art openings this weekend. "Dreamsicle" at WKNO Studio featuring paintings, sculpture, jewelry, photographs, and painted furniture by Lizi Beard-Ward,Melody Haspel, and Susan Younger, for instance, is just one of many in our calendar of events. There is only one Curtain Up, however. Not only does it raise funds for Playhouse on the Square, this annual event features games, hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, and live entertainment by Mark Edgar Stuart, Delta Joe Sanders, Memphis Dawls and others. It is advertised as five parties under one roof. Sounds like just the place to be on Friday night.

You probably don't even have your holiday decorations up yet, but the perfect gift knows no date. Why not take this opportunity to get some of that shopping behind you so you can actually enjoy turkey on Thanksgiving? And there are numerous opportunities in addition to the Holiday Gift Show this weekend including the Natural Learning School Rummage Sale on the northwest corner of Central & Cooper from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Christmas Open House at Palladio International Antique Market from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and Chanukah Market Place at Temple Israel from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday. I am sure you will have no problem finding something on my list. You did get my list, didn't you?

The Enchanted Forest in the basement of Goldsmith's downtown was a yearly pilgrimage for my family in the 70s. Mother would drag us four kids downtown every year to shop for Christmas, maneuver the magical snowy tunnels, and visit the old man in the red suit. One Christmas, mother decided we should not have the added burden of dealing with traffic and parking. We parked at my grandmother's house near Walnut Grove and Goodlett and took public transportation. Riding the MATA bus downtown was a treat all by itself. The skies were a steel grey and heavy. The worry was that we would not make it back to my grandmother's house before the snow fell. I remember the whirlwind trip and the rush to get everyone on my list a gift before the last bus headed east. We stepped off the bus as the snow started to silently fall. The Enchanted Forest was magical like that—and it still is. Though not in the bowels of Goldsmith's any longer, this Festival of Trees still reminds of the childhood magic of Christmas. This Saturday at 9 a.m., Santa lands on the lawn of Memphis Pink Palace to open the doors for this enchanting season.

For a full list of what’s happening this weekend in and around Memphis, check out our calendar of events. Also, be sure to tag your favorite Instagram photos of Memphis while you are out and about with the #memphisflyer hashtag. I hope you have a great weekend.